1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an image recording method, and in particular to a technique suitable for a digital still camera capable of recording a wide dynamic range image and used for a RAW data recording function in which unprocessed data (RAW data) outputted from an imaging element such as a CCD is immediately recorded.
2. Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-44515 discloses a digital camera having a dynamic-range-magnification imaging mode and a two-screen imaging mode in addition to a usual imaging mode. When imaging is performed in the dynamic-range-magnification imaging mode or the two-screen imaging mode by the digital camera shown in the document, long exposure and short exposure are performed, and long-exposure image data and short-exposure image data of the same object are generated.
In the dynamic-range-magnification imaging mode, a synthesized image is generated from the long-exposure image data and the short-exposure image data, and compressed main image data and compressed thumbnail image data of this synthesized image are recorded on a recording medium in the form of a file.
In the two-screen imaging mode, each of the long exposure image data and the short exposure image data is recorded as a separate file, which includes compressed main image data and compressed thumbnail image data, to a recording medium, and a common extension is assigned to image files related to those.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-305684 discloses an imaging system in which imaging is performed under different exposure conditions for the same object and at least two images obtained by the imaging are synthesized to obtain a wide dynamic range image. It is disclosed that, in this system, a thumbnail image is generated from the synthesized image, and the thumbnail is recorded together with the synthesized image (wide dynamic range image).